George Hibbert junior

Profile & Legacies Summary

17th Feb 1796 - 31st May 1882

Claimant or beneficiary

Biography

George Hibbert Junior (1796-1882) was the son of George Hibbert M.P. (1757-1837) and his wife Elizabeth Fonnereau (1765-1841). Educated at both Winchester and Eton, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge where he received a Bachelor’s degree in 1818 followed by a Master’s in 1823. George was listed as a West India merchant in the records of the Cambridge alumni. By 1824 George Junior was a regular attendee of the Society of West India Planters and Merchants and by 1835 he had become the Treasurer. He was part of the Hibbert counting house and traded under his own partnership Hibbert & Co., which was also involved in the West India trade.

George Junior was involved with the West India Dock Company and acted as a Director. In 1838 the East and West India Dock Companies merged to form The East and West India Dock Company. George Junior remained on the Board until his death in1877. One of the major undertaking of improvement to the docks was the London and Blackwall Railway. The plans were underway by 1836 with George Junior as the Deputy Chairman. The plan was a success and the London and Blackwall Railway opened in 1840.

George Junior into the lucrative insurance industry. Following the Marine Insurance Bill of 1824 the monopoly held by Lloyd’s, the London Assurance and Royal Exchange Assurance was finally broken and the market opened up to newcomers. George was quick to spot an opportunity and became a Director of the Indemnity Marine Insurance Company, taking out its first ever policy on 4th August 1824, almost a year before the company even opened for business. This company would go to become the insurance providers Aviva, a now familiar household name. George became a Director of the Imperial Life Insurance Company and the Imperial Fire Assurance Company serving at different times between 1831 and 1858.

George Junior lived at No.21 Queen Street Mayfair, an affluent and fashionable part of London close to Green Park. He never married and had no children, however his will of 1877 indicates that he died a very wealthy man. His personal estate was valued at £70,000, the majority of which he left to his brother Nathaniel’s grandson Sydney George Holland.

Further Information

Absentee?

British/Irish

Children

d.s.p.

Will

The will (dated April 1, 1879), with a codicil (dated Jan. 2, 1880), of Mr. George Hibbert late of No. 21, Queen-street, Mayfair, who died on May 31 last, was proved on the 19th ult. by Sir Henry Thurstan Holland, Bart., M.P., Charles Hammond, and Sydney George Holland, the executors, the value of the personal estate being over £70,000. The testator bequeaths to his niece, Katherine Amelia Hibbert, an annuity of £400; to his great-niece, Mrs. Edith Emily Cropper, £3000; and liberal legacies to his butler and other servants. There are also bequests in favour of Mr. Charles Hammond and his wife. All his real estate and the residue of the personalty he gives to his great-nephew, Sydney George Holland.